Ludwig I am so sorry. I didn't know you were German. I wasn't trying to offend you, I was trying to defend the Lusitania for who she was. As Tragic as the sinking is, I am actually happy the Germans sunk her. They saved the Lusitania from the scrapyard. You people should know I have issues about that. I really think the scrap merchants are evil shipwerckers. more evil than either Germany or Russia. I am not Disillusional, I am having a Genjutsu ( Japanese for Illusion), I am merely loving ships like any sailor would. I know how sailors love their ships, for it is their home as well as the work. And I know for a fact that when a ship retires & sold for scrap, They cried . They cried because they love their ships. they think of a ship as a friend or a love one. So in all due respect to you guys, I love Ocean Liners like a sailor would. I hope you understand. T.Joshua Frederick

Show me one person who cries tears of anguish over the scrapping of a VLCC, and I'll show you the tears of joy when an Indian village finds out that they will have food on their table for six months as the ship is scrapped.

They are not evil. Shipbreakers are guys trying to make a living the same as any of us.

Love it or lump it, it's simply not practical to preserve every ship and when they get old, decrepit, worn out and even dangerous to keep in layup, somebody has to clean up the mess. Recycling the steel ensures that it'll be put to good use and serves to conserve resources.

I'm sorry. I have issues about it. My girlfirend Jenny ask me why I hate scrapping so much. So I told her that scrapping is like dismembering somebody very close to me, like my Grandma, Jenny, my girlfriend, & my best friend Tony. T.J. Frederick

No, that's burial. Scrapping is the last phase of any ship's life, should it be fortunate enough not to come to grief before the end of its time. As much as I love ships, I didn't shed a single tear when the France/Norway was being dismembered -- she provided employment for hundreds of workers and a huge boost to the local economy (much the same as the scrapping of the Olympic did).

But Why? Why is perserving ships are a waste? I don't think so. They are too beautiful to be scrap. I sorry Tim, but scrapping is something I can never understand. I cried everytime I read about a Liner getting to the scrapyard. It hurts me. It gives me nothing but Pain. I die everytime I read that. I came here to save History, not demolish it. I love seeing Ocean Liners Preserve. I don't like scrapping. I cried when France gone away. It reminded me that I was living in a world so cold. I'm sorry, but scrapping is a issue with me & very touchy. I have to go now, but I hope you find something to ease my Pain. T. Joshua Frederick

Preserving ships in and of itself isn't a waste, assuming that a particular vessel has some historical signifigance.

The problem is that preservation is a manpower and money intensive black hole in which resources are sucked in and often for very little return. If you don't believe me, do some research on maritime museum initiatives which have failed. There are a lot of them.

While you're at it, take note that the ones which manage to hang on often do so by the very skin of their financial teeth, and are on the very razors edge of failure. The USS Interpid almost went bankrupt because of a miscalculation in dredging which got the hull stuck in the mud, the USS Hornet was almost forclosed on because of unpaid debts, and the USS Olympia is in such desperately poor condition that the ship may have to be scrapped or sunk as a reef.

The simple reality is that you can't save them all, even the ships of historical value which is beyond dispute, so this is one area where you have to pick and choose, and then you need one helluva sound financial plan to make things happen.

WOW! that is so sad. I can't believe it's that diffcult to perserve ships. I know I've repeat this subject over & over again, but I love the Great Ocean Liners so much! And I don't want to let go of them. Can I be honest? I don't like the word money. I know we need money to live by, but it seems everything is always about money, & I don't like it. I'm sorry. Now, that aside, I always wonder what the Lusitania did between her Maiden Voyage & her sinking. it seems that 7 years is missing. I want about those 7 years. Can you help me find anything regard those seven years? Please & Thank you. Tyler J Frederick

WOW! that is so sad. I can't believe it's that diffcult to perserve ships.

A ship is a large wooden or metal structure which is sitting in salt water, one of the most persistantly corrosive mediums on the face of the planet. Given enough time, it'll eat a battlship.

The incredible part is not that preservation is a problem. The incredible part is that any group is able to hold the line against it, and it speaks volumns of the dedication of preservationists that they even manage to do so.

The North Atlantic is the saltiest ocean in the world. But the pacific is not that salty. I can understand that people trying to perserve ship by fight the salt, but I believe that steel ships can survive for hundreds of years. The Lusitania could been one. What's done is done I suppose. Tyler Joshua Frederick